


Our Thanksgiving

by belivaird_st



Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-27 17:10:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16706554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belivaird_st/pseuds/belivaird_st
Summary: Carol & Therese volunteer to serve food at a soup kitchen.





	1. Chapter 1

“I want to thank you both again for coming, ladies,” spoke the soup kitchen’s head coordinator, Mrs. Diane Ashcroft. She was leading Carol and Therese up a set of narrow block cement type stairs with her hand sliding along a metal railing. “We won’t start serving the food until noon, but it’s nice to arrive early...”

Therese glanced back around her shoulder to find Carol smirking up at her. She held her breath the minute the blonde playfully pinched her wool skirt bottom.

“Here we are, on the main floor,” Mrs. Ashcroft continued, stopping once she reached the top floor. Therese practically bumped into her from behind, but the aging woman didn’t seem to mind that much. She moved forward in a pair of black solid high heels into a room that looked family-friendly living related. There were couches, chairs, individual coffee tables, and a tall, oak furnished, broadcasting radio.

“Where is everybody?” Carol asked.

“In their rooms, of course,” Mrs. Ashcroft answered. “The outside hallway leads to all fourteen of them. We like to have our privacy, Ms. Ross.”

“Of course,” Carol nodded and Therese smirked as she began to follow the head coordinator more towards a connecting room that was the kitchen.

xxxxx

“You like my hairnet?” Carol questioned, showing off the black netted mesh that kept her hair in place.

Therese snorted beside her wearing the same thing. Mrs. Ashcroft had them standing behind a table that kept a large ceramic gravy bowl and a dish of cranberry sauce. There were other volunteers from the community that wore similar hairnets and latex gloves; already serving and passing plates of food out to the 65-and-over aged residents moving along through the food line.

“God bless you,” spoke an elderly woman holding a plate of mashed potatoes, green beans, and bits of turkey. Therese smiled as she scooped up gravy from the ladle and poured some on. 

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Carol told an old man with thick framed glasses standing in front of the woman, pouring cranberry sauce onto his plate.

“Never mind that,” he said, moving his dentures inside his mouth. “I’ll have what you’re wearing!”

“Albert!” scolded his wife, Charlene. She scowled over his fresh talk with Therese giggling and Carol howling with laughter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m late with this, but I finished! The second part is complete! Thank you once again for the reading and comments! I hope everyone had a safe, relaxing holiday!!!

“What’s that you got there, Rindy?”

The child was holding out a miniature wooden nutcracker that was painted red, green, and gold. Her grandfather carefully took it from his seat at the dinner table to study the craftwork very closely. His wife picked up a goblet glass of eggnog beside him and brought it close to her lips with a smirk.

Abby Gerhard smoothed out the front of her mustard yellow cardigan sweater with one hand across from Harge’s parents at the table and took notice that Carol was holding out the bowl of sweet potatoes towards her. “No thanks, honey— I’m stuffed...”

“You had one plate,” Jeanette Harrison spoke beside her husband on Abby’s left. “Such a skinny thing like you!”

Carol chuckled, setting down the bowl again before leaning back in her chair at one end of the table. She picked up her knife and fork to cut more of her white slices of roasted turkey.

Therese sat at the other end, buttering a roll. She ripped off a piece and popped it into her mouth. She was stuck in the middle between Harge and Cy Harrison, who were discussing about cars and the prices of gasoline. 

“You see these teeth? They can bite through anything,” John Aird was telling his four-year-old granddaughter. “If you’re not too careful—they can bite your finger off!”

“ _No they won’t!_ ” Rindy exclaimed, giggling. She leaned close over his shoulder to watch his hands grab and yank on the green painted lever built on the nutcracker’s back. The grandfather made the toy open and close its hollowed mouth. Rindy squealed and laughed the moment he tried going after her fingers.

“Carol, you certainly outdid yourself with the cooking,” Jennifer Aird complimented. “However, I must say—the turkey’s just a tad bit salty for my taste.”

“I thought the turkey was just right,” Abby quickly defended. 

Carol wiped her mouth with a napkin, thanking Abby, personally, with a look in her eyes. 

“How was volunteering at the soup kitchen?” Abby asked.

“Wonderful,” Carol nodded. She forked some peas with breaded stuffing and mashed potato. “Therese and I had a swell time.”

“Those poor people,” Jeanette joined in. “How many were they?”

“Maybe eleven-to-twelve of them,” Carol estimated.

“You don’t even get paid for serving them?”

“No,” Carol said.

“She _volunteered_ to do it,” Abby added.

“That’s too bad,” Jeanette snorted.

“I agree,” Jennifer quipped.

Carol gave them both a disgraceful look before eating more of her food.

xxxxx

Both Carol and Therese were busy clearing away all the dishes from the table with Abby joining them. She seemed like she was in a hurry, because she kept clattering plates and bowls together, bumping into the women constantly.

“What's your hurry, Abbs?” Carol said, handing Therese over a rinsed, clean cup, who was busy setting the washed dishes down on the drying rack. 

“Me?” Abby grinned, flicking water off with her cheeks flushed pink. “I’ve got a date.”

“Who?” Carol smirked.

“She’s an older woman,” Abby informed. “That’s all I can tell you.” She moved forward to kiss farewell on the blonde’s cheek, and then Therese’s. “Thank you for inviting me over, ladies...”

“You’re not having dessert?” Therese questioned. 

Abby declined the offer and took off to grab her things in the foyer. Carol stayed put and began to scrape remaining food off a plate into the trash, listening to all the muffled voices that were coming from everybody else in the living room.

Therese stood still quietly and watched.

“Abby’s got a date,” Carol declared.

“I know,” Therese said. “Good for her.”

“Have you made room for my homemade apple swirl cake?”

“I have,” Therese grinned, holding onto her belly.

xxxxx

After the table was cleared and set for dessert—store bought pumpkin pie, Jeanette’s cranberry cookies, two cartons of vanilla ice cream, and Carol’s homemade apple swirl cake—Therese managed to gather everybody back into the dinning room to eat.

The heat had turned up a few degrees hotter than it should. Carol had to step out of the room with her face all shiny with sweat. She walked toward the ice box to drop some cubes into a glass and filled herself some water. Turning around, she spotted Therese coming over with a plate of apple cake and two plastic forks.

“Hey,” Carol greeted, utterly exhausted.

“Hi.” Therese held the plate in front of her and took a fork with her lover doing the same. They both shared the pastry; getting their mouths crumbly with brown sugar and cinnamon.

“I really love this,” Carol spoke after a few bites.

“I really love you,” Therese told her. She then abruptly leaned forward to prove it with a sugary, sweet kiss.

—End


End file.
